The Israeli army said on Monday that soldiers from the elite 'Haruv' unit captured a bomb-carrying Palestinian in the village of Kalil near the West Bank city of Nablus, reported The Jerusalem Post newspaper.

The Palestinians, whose identity was not immediately known, was reportedly carrying a bomb attached to a cellular telephone detonating mechanism, similar to numerous past bombs, the paper said, citing Israel Radio.

“Troops in the unit saw and apprehended the man as he approached the road leading to the neighboring Bracha Jewish settlement,” a military official told the radio.

Meanwhile, Israeli security forces arrested a Fateh official at Monday in a village west of Bethlehem in the West Bank, residents said, cited by AFP.

Misbah Aref Sabatin, 30, was arrested at his home in Houssan village, in an area under Israeli security control and Palestinian civilian control, they said.

Sabatin is the top Fateh official in the village of around 5,000 people.

The reasons for the arrest were not known, said the agency.

Two Palestinian youths were also arrested from their homes at around the same time, residents said.

The Bethlehem-based Prisoners' Club, which works for the release of Palestinians held in Israeli jails, said Israel has arrested some 165 people from the village since the cycle of violence erupted in the Palestinian territories seven months ago, 80 of whom are still in detention.

A total of around 2,500 Palestinians are being held in Israeli jails, according to the group's figures, cited by AFP -- Albawaba.com